LinkedIn Rolls Out New Company Pages, Offers Promoted Content Feature

Professional social networking platform LinkedIn is rolling out its redesigned Company Pages to more than 2 million corporate users. As part of the roll out, LinkedIn is also introducing new functionality to highlight important content on Company Pages.

LinkedIn is promoting the new pages as providing benefits to both individual network members and companies. For individuals, LinkedIn says the new design offers a streamlined design, including prominently place company updates, which makes finding information easier. The new pages are also accessible via the LinkedIn iPhone, Android and iPad apps.

For companies, LinkedIn says it is now easier to add images to Company Pages, as well as share information like status updates and job opportunities. The new pages also provide what LinkedIn calls a “more prominent” navigation experience that makes featuring certain aspects of their company to visitors easier. In addition, select companies such as American Express have been provided with an enhanced Career Pages section.

One other notable new offering LinkedIn is providing Company Pages users is functionality called Featured Update, which promotes selected content to the top of the Company Update stream.

LinkedIn Increases Company Engagement

LinkedIn’s wide scale roll out of its new Company Pages design is part of a broader effort to engage companies as well as individuals on its platform. In June 2012, LinkedIn introduced LinkedIn Targeted Status Updates, which allow marketers with LinkedIn Company Pages on the platform to deliver highly personalized, relevant content to increase engagement with the followers of their brands. All users can thus leverage Targeted Status Updates to streamline how members receive relevant information from companies they follow. As a result, companies can tailor the way they communicate with their followers, helping to meet their specific needs.

In promoting Targeted Status Updates, LinkedIn highlighted a study they did which showed that a majority of members (67%) follow companies on LinkedIn to gain industry insights and for company news (61%), while 49% are attracted by the peer community. These figures also suggest the redesigned Company Pages may be hitting the mark.

Does Facebook Charge for Free LinkedIn Features?

An article in Business Insider accuses Facebook of charging for the same type of service LinkedIn is offering free with its revamped Company Pages. Business Insider says free featured updates that stay at the top of LinkedIn company news feed for up to 48 hours only have a paid equivalent on Facebook.

“Facebook makes companies pay for those, and recently tweaked its algorithm to ensure that unpaid company posts are seen by even fewer users than ever,” states Business Insider, adding that “Agency clients have already started howling with frustration.”

Although Business Insider concedes that “advertisers use LinkedIn for different purposes than Facebook,” the article concludes that Facebook is “making it harder for advertisers to get free exposure in its ecosystem.”